maxisandallies 's review for:

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

4.0

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Birnam Wood is very unique. It embraces the idea of telling rather than showing, delving deeply into the motivations and experiences of the characters, frequently switching perspectives as it interrogates the lived experiences of politics. At times, this style can be piercingly insightful, and at other times it can be absolutely agonizing: social satire so minute it becomes proto-schizophrenic leftist infighting. The plot of the novel is tightly organized, and the characters are uniformly interesting, with the main antagonist a definite high point. I thought the ending was a weakness of the novel. Birnam wood is built around careful chains of action and consequence, but the ending is abrupt and shocking in a way that feels out of place for the rest of the book. 
More than most books, I think this is a subjective one. It's plot-heavy satire with an experimental and unusual style and a heavy emphasis on politics, and you have to know yourself well enough to know if that appeals.